Homemade Aloe Vera Gel Straight from the Plant

Two birthdays ago I was given an adorable little aloe vera plant. Since then it has flourished into a plant at least double it’s original size with so many leaves, it can hardly fit beside the window anymore. I’ve always used the aloe vera from my plant for slathering on sun burns, but that’s it. When I wanted some aloe vera gel for a recipe, I thought to myself, “Why buy it when I have a plant right here?” And so, I decided to find out how to make my own homemade aloe vera gel straight from the plant.

Homemade Aloe Vera Gel

1. Cut the leaf from the plant close to the base.

2. Hold the leaf cut-side down over the sink for about 30 seconds to allow the yellow liquid to seep out. Wash any remaining yellow liquid off.

3. Lay the leaf down on a cutting board and run a sharp knife down each side cutting off the spiked edges.

4. Horizontally slice through the leaf from the bottom to the tip.

5. Peel the two sides apart. Use a spoon to scrape out all of the gel. This part gets messy.

6. Place all the gel and goo into a blender and blend. It will be frothy.

7. Pour into a suitable container and seal with a lid.

8. Use right away or store in the refrigerator or even the freezer until ready to use.

Once you’ve made it, aloe vera gel has so many uses. Here’s a few to get your imagination going:

-on sun burns

-on kitchen burns (after running cold water on them and cooling the area)

4 Comment

Grace

October 21, 2016 at 10:37 am

Thanks! In the fridge, I would say it should last a week or two. If you’re using it in a recipe that has a natural preservative such as lemon juice or vitamin E then it will last a while longer. I imagine it would do okay for a long time when frozen, however, I’ve never tried freezing it myself, so I can’t really speak to that.